Erin McIlvain

Chief Officer, Distribution and Content Strategy at Great American Media

Erin McIlvain is Chief Officer, Distribution and Content Strategy for Great American Media where she oversees the company’s multi-platform distribution and content strategy for the company’s portfolio of brands, including Great American Family and Great American Living. Since joining the company in June 2021, McIlvain has spearheaded distribution growth for Great American Family increasing the network’s subscriber base by over 48%.  In addition, McIlvain also oversaw the launch of the company’s first FAST channel, Great American Adventures, and led the development of Great American Community, the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming app.  Based in Great American Media’s Denver office, McIlvain reports to Bill Abbott, President and Chief Executive Officer of Great American Media.

Prior to joining Great American Media, McIlvain served as Executive Vice President, Content Strategy and Distribution at Crown Media Family Networks where she was responsible for aligning business development efforts with the distribution of Crown Media’s original content across multiple platforms. Prior to that, McIlvain was Vice President of Broadcast Relations and Programming for Charter Communications where she oversaw acquisition of broadcast, network, VOD, and TVE content for the nation’s third largest MVPD. In this role, along with other members of Charter’s content acquisition team, McIlvain negotiated numerous retransmission consent agreements and complex multi-platform distribution deals.

Prior to Charter Communications, McIlvain was the Vice President of National Accounts at Crown Media Family Networks. She was responsible for negotiating and securing contract renewals with all national accounts. Additional responsibilities included management of contract compliance and analysis of new revenue opportunities. McIlvain began her career at DISH Network, negotiating retransmission consent and linear cable network distribution deals. During her tenure at DISH, she received the unique opportunity to work for a start-up subsidiary for six months in Hong Kong.

McIlvain is a four-time honoree for Cablefax’s “Most Powerful Women in Cable” and a three-time honoree for the Cablefax 100.  She currently serves as a board member for Rocky Mountain PBS and the Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association, and is a graduate of the Women in Cable Television’s Betsy Magness Leadership Institute, class 35.  McIlvain graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts in History and received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver, School of Law. She is a member of the Colorado State Bar.